Currently, in the marketplace, there are not many portable AC power supplies. Most notably, there is nothing to illuminate holiday decorations for a definite period of time which are located a distance from outlets. Sometimes it is difficult or impossible to string an extension cord to remote locations about the perimeter of one's house. There is certainly no portable AC supply which is provided with a timer to turn lights on and off at a preset time which could avoid the use of an extension cord over long distances. There is no portable AC power supply which can be used in remote locations as for camping or picnicing which can supply power to a radio or TV.
In reviewing the prior art, there are portable power supplies which are bulky or not easy to use. One such invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,127 issued to Johnson and U.S. Pat. No. 2,978,596 issued to Robirds which disclose very bulky power suppies which are used to power tools at remote locations around a job site. In these inventions is used a DC rechargeable battery which is equipped with an DC to AC converter which can function as a 110V AC current supply. Of course, the unit is charged by plugging it into an AC power supply and uses an AC to DC converter to charge the internal battery.
One interesting invention, U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,615 issued to R. Niecke, discloses the use of a specialized power belt which can carry batteries which are used to supply power to a variety of portable power tools equipped with special plugs.
Other issued patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,565 issued to I. Chen disclose AC powered devices which can be used with a DC battery, but they are provided with specialized plugs so that they can be used only with a vehicle cigarette lighter opening and are only powered or recharged with the energy supplied by the 12 V from a car battery and hence cannot be used in a variety of situations.
However, none of the inventions seen in the prior art discloses the use of a simple, lightweight power supply which can be used in a multiple of situations in a convenient and safe manner, as does the present invention.